It appears you are trying to access this site using an outdated browser. As a result, parts of the site may not function properly for you. We recommend updating your browser to its most recent version at your earliest convenience.

Call 9-1-1 and report your name and location. If you are unsure of your location, look for things around you such as street names or signs, restaurant or store names, or mail that has the address of where you are on it.

If it is safe to go outside, get the house number (or name of the building if you cannot see the number).

If you see people and it’s safe to talk to them, ask them where you are and tell them you need help. Ask if they have a cell phone so you can call the police or tell them to call the police for you if you don’t have time.

Plan an escape route or exit strategy and practice it if you can before you do it.

Keep anything you’ll need with you if you need to leave quickly, like money, a phone, passport or persons you need to bring with you (kids).

Keep a bag ready with these items, if you can.

Keep a written copy of important numbers on you at all times in case your phone is taken or destroyed at any point. Memorize important numbers/hotlines if possible. Keep these in a safe place where they won’t be discovered.

Think about your next steps after you leave the situation, that is, once you are outside where will you go immediately? If you aren’t sure, you can go to a police station.

Contact trusted friends or family to ask for help or let them know where you are.

In bad situations, avoid rooms where the situation can get use, such as rooms with knives, sharp objects, pots, tools (kitchens, garages, workshops) or with no exits (basements).

A safer place to try to leave from would be a front room, yard or apartment hallway where a neighbour might see or hear an incident.

If you have children who are with you, teach them how to protect themselves and make sure they know how to call someone for help, where to hide during a violent incident, and practice your escape plan with them before you try it, if you can.

Safety tips after exiting a human trafficking situation

Keep your residence locked at all times.

Change your locks if the people you got away from have a key or may be able to access your residence.

If moving to a new residence, only tell your address to people you trust.

Consider taking out a legal protective order against the person who was controlling you so that he/she will be legally prohibited from contacting you, and be sure to report them to the police if they do try to contact you.

If the person you escaped from has contacted you, document the contact (calls, texts, emails, showing up at your home or work), save any voicemails or messages that are threatening, and report them to the police.

Consider changing your phone number to a number unknown to the person who was controlling you.

Keep a cell phone on you at all times for emergencies.

Tell your neighbours, coworkers and friends to call the police if they see the person you escaped from or someone suspicious near, in or around your home or office, or near you.

Use a special signal or code word(s) (lights flickering on and off, text message or hand signal) to use with trusted neighbours, relatives or friends to notify them that you are in danger or need help.

If you have children who were also in the trafficking situation, create a new safety plan with them so they know what to do if the person(s) you escaped from contacts them or they see them around you or your home. Teach them how to contact the police and get help, and what to say when they do.

If your child has ongoing contact with the person you escaped from, create a safety plan and report any contact to the police.

If you are living with them, find a safe place they don’t know about or where you can go and be protected.

Do not accept gifts from them.

Do not allow them to look at your personal information or devices.

Do not allow them access to your passport, identification, cell phone or computer.

Do not allow them to control your social media accounts or to remove you from social media. This is known as isolation.

Do not allow them to control who you see or to tell you to stop spending time with family and friends.

Do not engage in a sexual or romantic relationship with this person.

Use a special signal or code word(s) (lights flickering on and off, text message or hand signal) to let a trusted neighbour, relative or friend know when you are in danger.

Clear this page from your browser history

If you’re worried someone will see that you visited this page or website, you can clear your browser history. Select the device and browser you are using from the list below to get started. You can also browse secretly so that you don’t have to clear your history next time.

Mobile phone

iPhone (Safari)

Go to the Settings app (looks like a gear)

Scroll down and tap Safari

Scroll down to the line that says “Clear History and Website Data”

Tap the pop-up line “Clear History and Data”

Tap the top left button to go back to the Settings main screen

Close the Settings app by hitting the iPhone home button on your device or swiping up

Scroll down and you'll see three buttons: Browsing history, Cookies and site data, and Cached images and files

Select Browsing history and anything else you want to clear

Select Clear data

Close the Settings

Desktop or laptop

Firefox

From the top menu, select the library icon at the top right (appears as three vertical lines (lines going up and down), and a fourth line tipping back onto the first three lines)

Select “History”

Select the “Details” line

Check any items that are not checked which you want deleted, such as Browsing & Download History, Form & Search History, Cookies, Cache, Active Logins, Offline Website Data, Site Preferences

From the drop-down menu, select a time range to clear

Click the button “Clear Now”

Close the menu and browser window

Chrome

Select the menu icon (three horizontal bars lying flat, or three vertical dots going up) at the top right

Select “History,” then select History again

Click “Clear browsing data” (should be on the left-hand side)

From the drop-down menu, select a time range to clear

Click “Clear Data” button to clear your browsing history, cookies, site date and cached images and files; You can also go to “Advanced” and select “Clear Data” to clear all passwords and autofill form data

If any of the following are not check marked and you want them deleted, click them before you clear your data: Browsing history, Download history, Cookies and other site and plug-in data, Cached images and files, Passwords, Autofill form data, Hosted app data

Click “Clear Data”

A pop-up may appear telling you what data has been deleted from your history, click the “OK, Got it” button

Close the menu and browser window

Internet Explorer

From the Tools menu at the top (which might be a gear icon)

Click “Delete Browsing History”

Uncheck “Preserve Favorites website data”

Check “Temporary Internet files”

Check “Cookies”

Check “Form data”

Check “Passwords”

Check “InPrivate Filtering data”

Click the “Delete” button

Close the menu

You can also push Ctrl+Shift+Delete from any Internet Explorer window and the option to clear your history will pop up. Checkmark everything you would like to delete and then click on “Delete.” A pop-up may then appear at the bottom of your screen letting you know your history has been deleted. Click the “X” to close the pop-up.

Browse privately so you don’t have to clear your history

You can browse without leaving a computer trace with:

Safari on iPhone

Chrome on BlackBerry or Android

Incognito in Chrome

InPrivate in Internet Explorer

Private Window in Firefox

Using these features will open a new, private window that leaves no browser history. You should turn this feature on before you begin to browse.

Safari on iPhone

Tap the Safari app

Tap the double window icon box at the bottom right of the screen

Tap “Private” at the bottom left of the screen

Click the “+” to open a private browsing window

When you are finished, close the windows by clicking the “X,” close the app, then reopen the Safari app and un-tap “Privacy” to return to regular browsing.

Chrome on BlackBerry and Android phones

Tap the Chrome icon to open your browser

Tap the three dot icon at the top right corner to open your menu options

Tap “New incognito tab”

Be sure to close all tabs. When you close the browser the incognito tab should be gone, and the next time you open Chrome, it should be back to the regular browser.

Chrome incognito

To browse incognito with Chrome:

Right-click on the Chrome icon on your desktop or taskbar

Click “New incognito window”

Close the incognito window when you are finished

While browsing incognito, Chrome will not save your browsing history, cookies, site data or information entered in forms.

Important: if you download or bookmark anything while browsing incognito, these will be saved and you must clear these manually. If you delete a saved file, be sure to go into your Trash or Recycling Bin icon on your desktop and delete it from there as well.

Important: if you download or bookmark anything while browsing InPrivate, these may be saved and you must clear these manually. If you delete a saved file, be sure to go into your Trash or Recycling Bin icon on your desktop and delete it from there as well.

Important: if you download or bookmark anything while browsing in a Private Window, you should manually check to make sure that these downloads have not been saved to your computer. If you delete a saved file, be sure to go into your Trash or Recycling Bin icon on your desktop and delete it from there as well.